Follow, not follow
by FeniFiction
Summary: (Sequel to No backing down) Several decades after the reaper war Kahlee Shepard, Commander Shepard's daughter, is tired of living in her mother shadow and wishes to be her own person. Will her parents accept her choice or will they have not choice in her decision.
1. Chapter 1

Kahlee Shepard was waiting in the classroom, feeling totally bored by the history that was being taught. She had no interest in history unless it contained multiple bloody battles and so the early 21st century history that was being taught, which was only about politicians and economics had swept over her head and she was sitting having a pleasant day dream looking out of the window. The class finished and Kahlee headed outside, she had made it half way down to corridor when she was slammed into the lockers by a group of jocks from the rugby team. Slightly winded by the shove she was gasping for breath when one of the boys pinned her and said,

"I know you, you're that Shepard kid." Kahlee winced at the remark. All her teenage life she had lived in her mum's shadow. Between people only being her friend so they could speak to the 'saviour of the galaxy' and on one liking her because they were all scared of her she hadn't had the greatest of childhoods. Even at the age of 17 she was still haunted by this fact. The jock pinned her with his forearm and with this other hand delivered a punch that contacted with the top of her eyebrow. Stinging pain erupted from the brow bone as she was let go of. Kahlee hobbled out of the corridor and decided to walk home in order to restore her pride and reduce the swelling above her eye. It wasn't a long walk home only about a mile but it was long enough for Kahlee to start thinking. She was tried in living in Commander Shepard's shadow. Even though at home she was just Connie there were always holograms and letters address to C. Shepard: Commander, Alliance. Kahlee wanted to get away from her mother's over-bearing presence and she couldn't think of any way to do it. She rounded the corner of their road and headed down to 42 Orion Lane. The house was large but simply built, very similar to all the other. Kahlee had lived her for all her life apart from two years when the family had to move to a colony so Sam could work on communications there.

Kahlee opened the door and headed past the kitchen trying not to look in, knowing that Sam or Connie would be there, and walked straight towards the stairs and her bedroom.

"Hey Sweetie," Sam's voice chimed from the kitchen. Kahlee didn't turn round and mumbled a reply as she headed up stairs. "Kahlee are you ok…honey, talk to me!" Sam exclaimed as she looked up the stairs. But Kahlee didn't respond and just slammed her door in reply. Sam tried knocking on Kahlee's' door but she couldn't get a response so she headed back down stairs.

Connie Shepard had walked out of the office where she was working and said, "Is everything ok Sam, I heard a door slam?"

"Kahlee just back from school and I think she's upset, she just went upstairs and didn't speak to me. She's now in her room and she's not coming out."

Connie could see that Sam was visible upset by this; she walked over to her and enveloped her in a hug.

"Sam, listen. It's natural for teenagers to get a bit stroppy, just leave her for an hour or so and then I'm sure she will have calmed down."

Sam didn't look so convinced but she decided to head back to the kitchen. An hour or so past and Sam was still anxiously looking up the stairs but there has been no moment from Kahlee's room. She went back up the stairs and gently knocked on the door covered in stickers.

"Come in." a weak voice replied.

Sam gently opened the door and walked into the dark room. She made her way towards the bed where Kahlee was curled up in a foetal position. Sam gently turned on the bedside light and began to rub Kahlee's shoulder.

"Are you alright sweetie?"

In answer Kahlee turned round and Sam immediately noticed the swollen purple lump over her eye. Sam gasped as Kahlee began to cry, tears she had been holding back for some time bursting to the front of her eyes. Sam enveloped Kahlee in a hug while her daughter was crying, Sam whispered soothing words and Kahlee began to quieten.

"Please Kahlee, tell me what happened?"

"I g…ot hit and … they said it … was b..b.. because I was … an army brat and… because I'm commander Shepard's d…d…aughter." Kahlee sobbed getting more and more upset which each word she said.

Sam was haunted by the words she had just heard. Her daughter was getting abused due to her last name. Sam collected Kahlee into a hug and stayed with her until she stopped crying. Then once Kahlee was settled she brought her up something to eat and sat her down. Now that Kahlee had stopped crying Sam could get some more details from her.

"Alright sweetie," Sam started after she had sat next to Kahlee, "Tell me what happened."

"Well mum, I've pretty much told you everything. I had just finished history and I was walking down the corridor when I was slammed into the lockers. One of the jocks pinned me and said 'you're that Shepard kid' and then he punched me. There's not much more to say. But I've decided something."

Kahlee looked at Sam with questioning eyes but Sam nodded for her to carry on.

"I'm tired of living in Mam's shadow. I want to be my own person, not just Commander Shepard's daughter. So I think I'm going to join the Navy. It's the only way I can still be like Mam but be an individual. Please tell me you're not angry with me and don't tell mam. I'm still not sure."

Sam hugged her daughter and said, "Me and your mother will support you in whatever you choose but know that we will always think of you as our daughter; smart, beautiful and whatever anyone says you are Kahlee Shepard, conqueror of Monolopy and keeper of the peace in the Shepard-Traynor household."

Kahlee replied with a giggle and a smile as Sam gave her a kiss on her forehead and walked out of her room. Still concerned about their daughter Sam went down the stairs into the office, gently closed the door behind her and said, "Connie, we need to talk."

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A/N: Sorry I've been away for a while. This is a story I've been brooding over for a while. Drop me a review and let me know what you think.


	2. Chapter 2

"Ok Sam," quietly mused Connie as she turned round to see Sam was standing at the door of the office. She could tell that something was troubling Sam. She recognised the look in her eyes, the way she wrapped her hands in front of her and how she seemed to be talking to someone past you. Connie decided to finish up her paperwork and as she pulled away from the desk she got up from the chair and headed over to where Sam was standing. Having been married for nearly 20 years Connie knew exactly what to do.

She reached out to turn the office light off and then stood opposite her wife and gently wrapped her arms around her waist. Sam welcomed the embrace she reached up and wrapped her arms around Connie's neck and started to gently let out several tears. Sam just couldn't help it, with everything that was happening to Kahlee and the thought of losing her to the army in the way she had nearly lost Shepard, she almost couldn't bare the overwhelming emotions she was suffering.

Connie felt her wife chest start to rise and fall erratically and Sam started to let out a muffled sob. Connie gently rubbed Sam's back as she whispered soothing words and gave her small feather light kisses to the smooth skin of her neck. Gently walking backwards Connie directed Sam towards the base of the stairs. She turned out the kitchen light and then quietly curved her hands around the back of Sam's thoughts lifting her up so Sam could wrap her legs around Connie's waist. Still not moving her head away from Connie's neck Sam kept on letting out small sobs while tears where running down her cheeks.

Connie walked up the stairs with Sam in her arms; she softly pushed open the bedroom door with her foot and walked over to the bed. Connie reached the bed and laid Sam down on the covers all the while delivering soft kisses to the skin of her neck, jaw and cheeks. She pulled her face away to look at Sam. As Connie brushed away the wet tear tracks that had littered Sam cheeks, her hands began to remove the t-shirt and trackies that Sam had been wearing. Connie bent her head and pressed her lips against Sam's. Sam deepened the kiss and her hands started to undo the buttons on Connie's shirt. Connie broke away from the kiss and returned to gently kissing the skin of Sam's neck. As her teeth lightly grazed the skin behind her ear Sam let out a quietly moan, to which Connie quietly whispered,

"I guess I've still got it. Now before this turns into a trip of pleasure I think I've earned the right to know a reason for the tears."

Sam shuffled back on the bed and sat up inviting Connie to sit down on the bed next to her. Connie removed the last item of clothing and sat down. As soon as she had seated herself on the bed Sam turned round, threw her legs over Connie's and sat in her lap, looking straight into her eyes. Connie gently placed her hands on Sam's back and began pulling her fingers up and down the dark skin of her back.

"I was having a chat with Kahlee tonight and she said…" at this point Sam paused, a lump rising in her throat but she managed to carry on. "Kahlee said she got attacked just because she has the last name of Shepard."

Sam could feel Shepard's muscle tense underneath her body. To diffuse her feelings Sam gently massaged the taught muscles of her shoulders before continuing.

"Kahlee said that she was living in your shadow and said that she wanted to be her own person. She said the only way for her to do that was to join the Navy like you. You have no idea Connie how much she loves you but I'm worried. I've seen the horrors of war, obviously not as much as you have but I don't want her to get hurt, she's our baby Connie, we can't let anything happen to her."

At this point Sam broke down in to fits of tears. Connie stroked her hair whispering, "Don't worry honey. I'll speak to her, we'll sort everything out. And…"

Connie lightly pulled up Sam's chin so she was a looking her in the eye.

"I promise that I won't let anything happen to her. I promise."

Sam nodded a couple of times and then pulled herself up into bed. Connie got in behind her and snuggled into her back, pulling the covers up. Sam entwined her hands with Connie's that were wrapped round her waist and closed her eyes feeling peaceful that everything would be alright but in Connie's mind there was a whirlwind of thought. Guilty; that her own name had caused so much pain to her daughter, Sad because she felt that it was somehow her fault, angry at the fact that Kahlee had been attacked. She took slow deep breaths and somehow managed to calm herself, mainly because the fact that she was breathing in the scent of Sam's perfume and the unmistakable scent of her raspberries which always hung around her hair. Once she'd calmed herself down she made up her mind that she would have a chat with Kahlee and organize everything between them and then she would march down to that school, confront the teachers and if she needed to, administer a punch that would knock the teeth out of the person would had assaulted Kahlee. With the soothing thought of bringing justice Connie sank back into the realms of the dreams.

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A/N: Hey guys, another chapter! A little bit of fluff in this chapter, the next one should be out in the next couple of days. Let me know what you think :)


	3. Chapter 3

A couple of days had passed and Kahlee was still musing over the idea of joining the army. She was almost positive that she was going to join up and had even started planning her training day and how she was going to get there. The only part that was making her hesitate was Connie's thoughts about it. Kahlee was sure she was going to disapprove and she didn't want to hurt her mum but she was confident that Connie was going to throw a fit when she told her. So Kahlee had decided to keep a low profile for a few days until she had got absolutely figured everything out.

Connie was in the same boat. After Sam had told her of Kahlee's plan she wanted to confront her about it but she didn't want Kahlee to feel like Sam had betrayed her trust by telling Connie. Shepard tried to keep busy with work but there was always that niggling thought in the back of her head of what she was going to say. After much thought she decided that Kahlee had to come to her out of her own choice so Connie decided to let sleeping lions lie until Kahlee came to her.

Mid-week Connie was working in the office and Sam was out, she always ran a chess club for the school-kids and their parents on a Wednesday afternoon. Connie couldn't see the point of her doing it because she knew that Sam could beat any of them hands down but Sam always said that the practice kept her on toes andit was good for the kids and adults to have a challenge. Kahlee had been working upstairs but as it reached about 7 o'clock Connie heard a small knock at the door.

"Hey mum, Can I have a chat with you?" Kahlee said quietly as she rounded the corner.

"Of course sweetie, Have a seat." Connie said as she gestured towards the spare chair that was near the desk.

Kahlee slowly walked towards the chair, her stomach was doing somersaults, she had been sitting in her room running through every scenario she could think of and she couldn't see any of them ending well so after she had thought of everything she could say she summed up the courage to walk down the stairs and talk to Connie.

"Well… Sam may have said something to you," Kahlee stared quietly, "earier about me wanting to join the army…" Kahlee paused and looked at Connie, seeing no movement of her mum's face Kahlee carried on.

"I can explain why I wanted to. You see at school I could name the people on one hand that know my first name. Everyone just knows me as Shepard and I'm tired of it. Even the teachers call me Shepard and all I want to do is shout at the top of my lungs that I do have a first name and do you know how many people have pretended to be my friend just to meet you? Hundreds, I feel like I have no friends they just want to get to know YOU. The mighty saviour galaxy, all powerful and no one wants to know Kahlee!"

Kahlee was shouting by this time and tears were staring to leak out of her eyes. She couldn't bear it anymore, she had spent 17 years in her mother's shadow and she was tired of it. Connie was about to say something but was silenced by Kahlee putting up her hand.

"Look mum, I know this is something you wouldn't understand but I have to do this. I want to be my own person and I want to honor you by join the Navy as well. I'm bred for this, it's like my blood is calling me to go join up. I want you to be proud of me. I want… tto be..just like you" Kahlee mumbled the last sentence though tears as she looked at her mother. Saviour of all people, the great Shepard. How could she be compared to that? How could she every make her happy?

Connie without a word got out of her chair and kneeled before her daughter and she took both of her hands in hers.

"Kahlee Shepard, you are all the best that is in me. You are strong and powerful and I'm sorry that I have caused you to be seen as anything less. I can't say how much me and Sam love you but I'll tell you something. The military can change a person. I've seen it too many times before. A person can lose themselves in the Navy so please, don't forget the values I've taught you. That every person's life is precious and everyone deserves compassion no matter if they are the enemy or not, I'll killed far too many people and I'm haunted by the memories of the people I didn't save. I don't want this to happen to you but I respect your choice no matter how hard it is to watch my little girl march off into danger. It's your life and you should choose how to live it."

The tears now started readily running down Kahlee's cheeks and she flung her arms round Connie and they stayed in each other arms for a long while. At last Connie pulled back and looked Kahlee in the eyes.

"Can I have a promise Kahlee; can you promise me that you will always do the right thing, even if no one else will?" Connie looked deep into her daughter's eyes. On the outside she saw herself; a hardened soldier, a born military leader but on the inside she was Sam. She saw Sam's kindness, her willingness to care and love.

"I promise, but I'm not sure I will ever be as good as you." Kahlee smiled as she saw the look in Connie's eyes. She knew just what she was about to do.

In unison, Connie and Kahlee jumped up and began to sing the song that Kahlee had learnt since the tie she had been able to talk.

"You can fight like a Krogan, you run like a leopard but you'll never be as good as Commander Shepard!" They both sang as they ran through into kitchen in time for tea.

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Later that night Connie and Sam were sitting together on the sofa enjoying one of the late night films. Connie was still thinking about her conversation with Kahlee earlier that day and that had been playing on her mind and so she wasn't really concentrating on the film. Sam could tell this and decided to see if anything was bothering her. So Sam decided to take action.

She turned round and quickly jumped on Connie, pinning her legs and arms as she sat in her lap and placed her hands on either side of her head. Sam looked deep into the dark green eyes and she couldn't help but be turned on, she was transported back to the shower on the Normandy and the first time those eyes had looked at her in a way that had driven Sam wild and captured her heart.

Connie was caught by surprise by Sam's move and she was going to protest until she felt Sam's lips being pressed into her. As the kiss deepened Sam pushed herself into Connie, eager to be taken by her strong marine but she suddenly remember she was supposed to be speaking to her not seducing her, although with Connie that wasn't very hard. Sam pulled back from the kiss followed by a slight moan from Connie.

"SSSaaaaammm," whined Connie as she began to pout slightly and throwing her head back onto the back of the seat, making Sam giggle and become even more turned on. "Why do you insist on making my life hell by being so flirty but so elusive at the same time?"

"I can't help it, I'm really forgetful and when I want to talk to you I just end up kissing you." Sam moans,

"Well Samantha, forgetfulness is not tolerated in my house and I think I will have to punish you for unlawful seduction." And as she said seduction she pushed herself off the sofa and pulled Sam over her shoulder, amid wild protest from Sam and displaying her strength carried Sam back off up the stairs to bed where she was going to demonstrate to her specialist that no one can be a good as Commander Shepard.

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**Hi everyone :) I'm sorry I promise things will start to happen in the next chapter. Its part setting the scene and me deciding what I want to happen. **

**Please be patient for chapters and I'm always happen to read comments and if you want something mentioned or done then just drop me a message, I'm happy to accommodate things in the story. **

**Feni:) **


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